updated 11:55 am EDT, Tue October 21, 2008

BlackBerry App Store

Research in Motion today confirmed the existence of its rumored BlackBerry Application Center, the company's attempt to parallel the iPhone's App Store. The portal will serve as a central hub for BlackBerry owners looking to download and manage apps instead of the web downloads and separate stores used before. Like Apple's offering, customers can buy directly from the software and apply upgrades; a new twist adds the ability to delete software without finding it in the regular BlackBerry OS layer.

The Canadian smartphone producer plans to outperform Apple by improving the financial appeal for both carriers and developers. Unlike with the iPhone, providers will have the ability to customize the App Center that faces the customer and tailor it to the particular network, including the ability to filter out undesirable apps or offer extra apps of its own. Software teams will also potentially generate more revenue: where iTunes developers receive a flat 70 percent of income from each paid app, RIM plans to increase that portion to 80 percent for BlackBerry software.

Contrary to expectations that the App Center would be available in time with the launch of the BlackBerry Storm, RIM only plans to start accepting app submissions in December and will formally roll out the App Center to BlackBerries in March of next year.

Introducing and spurring growth in the App Center is key to supporting a "groundswell" of interest in making home-friendly apps for BlackBerries, RIM president Mike Lazaridis claims.

The unveiling comes at a crucial point in sales for the smartphone line, which has come under increasing pressure from Apple in North America and is now believed to be suffering in the non-business space. Early NPD Group results have the iPhone overtaking the Curve in the summer, while a recent Pacific Crest analyst note has warned of poor Pearl Flip sales despite the phone's newness and relatively low price.

By then Apple's app store would probably have gone through another update to improve it even further. It's still amazing how these companies have been sitting on their haunches for YEARS and never bothered to come up with anything like this until after Apple does. We really should be thankful for Apple pushing the entire industry forward.

Geez, doesn't that BlackBerry Storm look fat, thick, clunky and incredibly silly? And NOW they fake it like someday they will have an App Store. You have to feel some compassion for the BlackBerry loser. iPhone and iTouch users can bask in all the glory! WaaHOO!

Geez, doesn't that BlackBerry Storm look fat, thick, clunky and incredibly silly? And NOW they fake it like someday they will have an App Store. You have to feel some compassion for the BlackBerry loser. iPhone and iTouch users can bask in all the glory! WaaHOO!

Competition is good, regardless of which side of the fence you are on. If this truly is a worthy rival of the iTunes app store, the people will speak. If not, the people will speak. This is Free Enterprise at its best and may the best store win.

Regardless of what the democrats try to tell you, this is the best way to do business. Just don't get in their way and we all benefit.

You've been able to get blackberry apps for years. They just haven't had them in one central spot. So they are making it easier to buy apps? Is that a big deal. I don't think so. If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, criticism is the greatest form of insecurity. What are you fanboys so worried about?

Not sure how apple expected to release a device without copy and paste when their users a bunch of parrots.